Can the Yakima LongHaul Bike Rack be Used on the Back of a Travel Trailer

Question:

We have a 1st gen Yakima Swing Daddy 4-bike rack for use on our 1988 VW Westfalia Vanagon Camper GL van, and like its quality and stability - but its not rated for use behind a travel trailer. We also have a restored vintage 1960 Avion T20 sim. to Airstream, but better! with a 4inch square RV bumper and the Curt RV bumper 2inch receiver for same, and are looking for a good quality bike rack rated for trailer use. So I have a few questions on this new Yakima rack. 1. Is this new LongHaul Bike rack rated by Yakima for use on travel trailers? 2. If it is, then you need to add a video of its stability on the back of a travel trailer too! 3. What is the total weight of bikes rating for up to 4 bikes on this rack, and what is the max. per bike rating per Yakima?

asked by: Tom T

Helpful Expert Reply:

The Yakima LongHaul # Y02476 was designed for use on the backs of RVs and trailers so it is a great option for your application. Looking at the answers on the page there is only one on a travel trailer (until now!) and it does say outright that the LongHaul is rated for this application.

We'd be happy to add a video if you want to bring your trailer to us to shoot it! As far as videos go we are at the mercy of what our customers bring to us and what they want to have installed. As soon as we can get a video made of the rack on a trailer it will be added to the page.

Considering that the hitch on your trailer is attached to the bumper and not the frame any stability issues would be at the connection point between the hitch and the bumper due to the limited amount of direct contact between the two (unlike a hitch mounted to the frame which has a wide stance).

Regarding the movement of the rack going over bumps that is the nature of the beast with hitch mounted racks on any vehicle. Its worse on some than others and some racks are better than others at combating it but there is always going to be some movement. You can use some straps such as # 18050 if you want to add even more stability and limit the movement even more beyond what the anti-rattle hitch bolt is capable of.

The LongHaul # Y02476 has a capacity of 37.5 pounds per bike, 150 pounds total capacity and those are the Yakima specs. I have linked a video of this rack on the back of a 5th wheel trailer in the meantime.